Lies of Necessity
by TeddyBear334
Summary: Twenty letters Hermione sent to her parents, and one she never sent.


_14__th__ September 1991_

Dear Mum and Dad,

Everything is quite lovely here. I'm in Gryffindor house, that's the one with the lion that's meant to be for brave people. The sorting hat considered putting me in Ravenclaw, which is for the cleverest students, but it said that I could grow more as a Gryffindor. I'm not sure what that means exactly, though my roommates said that the hat said very odd things to them too.

I'm doing really well in my classes, especially Transfiguration. Potions is very difficult, but I'm working very hard so that I understand all of the material we'll be studying this year. I've made friends with one of the prefects, and he's been quite helpful. The other girls in my dorm seem friendly as well.

I'm already quite busy with work, so I haven't had much time to get to know them. I gave them the treats you sent Mum, and they seemed to like them. I sat with them that night at dinner. Hogwarts has four long tables for all of the meals, and everyone sits with their house. Sometimes I just eat in the library, though. The hall is very noisy at lunch and dinner.

We aren't allowed out of our dormitories after curfew, but these two boys in my year, Harry and Ron, tried to sneak out at night and when I tried to stop them from leaving the dormitories, I was locked out and had to go with them. They were going to meet a boy from another house, but the caretaker heard us, and we had to run into an empty classroom. At the beginning of this year, the headmaster announced that there was a corridor that would be off-limits to students, but I didn't know where we were exactly. I don't think Harry and Ron knew either. When we ran, we ran straight into the corridor and into an empty classroom. We chose the classroom with a giant three-headed dog inside, like in Greek mythology. We ran away, but I suppose I know now why students aren't allowed in that corridor.

I was really angry with Ron and Harry for nearly getting me into trouble, but they didn't even seem worried! They seemed really interested in finding out why the dog was there, actually. They're going to get expelled if they aren't careful!

Hope you're both doing well! How's Granddad?

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_3__rd__ November 1991_

Dear Mum and Dad,

Happy Halloween! You won't believe what happened at the Halloween feast. A troll managed to break into Hogwarts. I'd read about them, but I'd never seen one in person. They're about twelve feet tall and a little scary-looking. I was in the bathroom when a teacher sounded the alarm, so I didn't know. The troll came wandering right into _my_ bathroom! But I was really lucky, because Harry and Ron noticed I wasn't there, so they came and found me. The three of us managed to knock out the troll, though it was mostly Ron's doing. He used a really fantastic spell that knocked it out with its own club. The Head of Gryffindor House, Professor McGonagall, gave us a lecture for not getting a teacher, but then she gave us house points and made us all go back to the common room.

Ever since then, Ron and Harry have been very nice. I sit with them at meals now, and we all sit together in classes and in the Gryffindor common room. Ron's going to teach me how to play chess. There's this sport called Quidditch that some people play, and the entire school watches the Quidditch games between the houses. I don't like it much, but Ron loves it and Harry's on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Ron and I have had flying lessons together, but he's much better than I am. He says that I need to work on my confidence, but I still don't like being so up high in the air.

Harry and Ron are really good flyers, even though Harry only learnt how to fly a few months ago. His parents were wizards, but they were killed by a Dark wizard when he was little. The Dark wizard died after he tried to kill Harry, so Harry's actually rather famous. He doesn't really act like he's famous, probably because he didn't know he was famous until he came to Hogwarts. He didn't know he was in books until I told him! Harry was raised by non-magical people, so he knows even less about the wizarding world than I do. I'm surprised by how little research he has done since he got here. There's another muggleborn boy in our year, and he doesn't seem to care either, even when I did recommend a really excellent book!

Ron's family is all wizards though. He has six elder brothers, and all of them went to Hogwarts and were in Gryffindor house like we are now. One of Ron's brothers, Percy, is a prefect. Percy was really nice to me and he had plenty of advice about wizarding careers and exams. Ron has a pair of twin brothers too, and they like to play jokes all of the time. I don't think I've ever seen either of them serious about anything. Sometimes they're funny, but they can be a little mean, especially to Ron.

I've been so busy with Harry and Ron that I forgot to reply to your letter until today. I've been doing lots of reading about the wizarding world, and it's all rather fascinating. The Hogwarts library has books that are hundreds of years old. The wizarding world has its own history, with wars and treaties and everything. Our History of Magic teacher isn't very interesting, but I take notes everyday and I'm reading a few books to supplement the lessons.

My classes are going really well, Professor McGonagall says I'm her top Transfiguration student. And she's really strict, so it's a bit of an honor. I earned top marks on a Charms essay last week as well. I've been tutoring Ron and Harry as well, and they seem really grateful.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_12__th__ May 1992_

Dear Mum and Dad,

Sorry I haven't written since Easter holidays ended, I've been so busy with all my exam revising. I made schedules to help Harry and Ron revise, but they don't seem very interested. Ron's still in the hospital wing from that bite from Hagrid's dog, but the nurse says he will have recovered in a few more days. I'm doing really well here.

Thank you for the gift! It only came in the mail yesterday. That was clever of you to rent an owl from the wizarding post office. I don't know how you managed it.

My roommates are fine, I don't really see them very much lately. I hadn't realised I wasn't writing about them anymore. But since you asked, they're quite nice to me. Parvati let me borrow her jumper last week. Lavender's elder sister, Violet, gave her makeup for her birthday last month, and Lavender and Parvati have been wearing it to classes. They offered to put it on me, but I didn't like it much. It's much too time-consuming. They even wake up an hour early to put it on, which seems rather a waste to me. Lavender has curly hair like me, but wakes up at seven in the morning to put special potion in it. It makes her hair look very stiff, but she said that I should buy some for my hair.

Harry, Neville, and I lost points a few days ago for something silly, but some of the Gryffindors were quite upset with us. Parvati was nice and told me that she didn't really care about points, but I don't think very many Gryffindors would agree. Ron says not to worry because Fred and George have lost points before and everyone still likes them, but some people are being rather mean. But I still have Ron and Harry, so it's alright.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_7__th__ September 1992_

Dear Mum and Dad,

You'll never believe what Harry and Ron did! The barrier to get onto the platform sealed itself, and they couldn't get onto the train before it left. So they took Mr. Weasley's flying car all the way to Hogwarts! It was incredibly stupid and reckless of them. They were very nearly expelled, but they only got detention.

Hogwarts has hired a new teacher to replace Professor Quirell, Professor Lockhart. He's quite well known for his defense abilities, and he's written plenty of books on the subject. I've read all of them, and they're all quite good. Hogwarts is really lucky to have someone like him as a professor. We had a quiz on our first day, and I was the only one to receive perfect marks.

Yesterday morning, Harry had the first Quidditch practice of the year, so Ron and I went to breakfast and brought some food to watch. But the Slytherin team came onto the pitch and told the Gryffindor team that they had special permission to use the pitch, because they had a new player. Ron and I came onto the field to find out what was going on, and it turned out that the new player was that boy I've told you about, Draco Malfoy. He only got on the team because he's really wealthy, and his father bought everyone on the team expensive new broomsticks.

Malfoy said something rude to Ron, so I told Malfoy that he only has a place on the team because his father bought everyone broomsticks. Malfoy called me something very rude, and Fred and George nearly attacked him. Ron tried to curse him, but the curse backfired. Harry and I had to take him to Hagrid's cabin because he wouldn't stop belching up slugs. It was a bit disgusting, actually. But it was very nice of Ron to defend me like that.

I hope you and Mum sorted out the problem with the new hygienist, and that everything is fine at home.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_22__nd__ December 1992_

Dear Mum and Dad,

Happy Christmas, I hope you have a lovely time at Aunt Julie's house. Tell the cousins I say hello. Christmas at Hogwarts is quite nice, actually. Hagrid puts up a dozen Christmas trees as big as houses, and there's mistletoe and holly everywhere. Harry and Ron are staying too, so it's been quite nice. I do miss you both terribly though. They've started a dueling club at school, though the first meeting didn't go very well. Now that everyone has gone home, Gryffindor tower is almost empty expect for Harry, Ron, Ginny, the twins, and me. The boys have been practicing dueling in the common room and sometimes I join in. Ginny's quiet most of the time, but she's nice I suppose.

Unfortunately, another student was magically frozen. It's a bit scary, but our Herbology teacher says that the medicine to fix them will be ready soon. I'm working hard on my schoolwork, as I have several essays to complete over break. I don't know how I'll find the time to finish them.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_December 27__th__, 1992 _

Dear Mum and Dad,

Thank you for the lovely presents. Hope your Christmas was wonderful. Everything is fine here. I gave this letter to Harry to give to his owl, as I've had a bit of flu since Christmas and am in the hospital wing. But don't worry, I'm sure I'll be feeling fine soon!

Love, Hermione

* * *

_7__th__ May 1993_

Dear Mum and Dad,

No, there haven't been anymore magically frozen students since Christmas. I don't think it's anything to worry about, to be honest. Things have gone back to normal here, actually.

I've finally chosen my extra subjects for next year: Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Ancient Runes (which is a bit like a language), and Arithmancy. Percy says that Arithmancy is a valuable NEWT to have, as it's considered one of the hardest subjects offered. I don't know what I'd like to go into after Hogwarts, but it's nice to have options, isn't it?

We're only allowed to pick three subjects, but I've spoken to Professor McGonagall and she's going to see if she can make special arrangements. I hope I have the chance to take all of the classes! I've already gone to the library so that I'll have a thorough understanding of each subject before next autumn. If it's alright with you, I'd like to order a few extra books to read over the summer.

Anyway, I have to go, it's getting quite late. I have to wake up early for the Quidditch match tomorrow. We're playing Hufflepuff and it's the last game of the season!

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_1__st__ November 1993_

Dear Mum and Dad,

Like I told you in my last letter, all of the older students were allowed to go to Hogsmeade on Halloween. Harry's guardians didn't sign his form, so Ron and I went alone. We had a wonderful time. We went to the sweet shop and the quill shop and Ron even went to the bookshop with me. He didn't like it much, but he waited for me while I bought three new books and a fancy new quill. After the bookshop, some of the other Gryffindors invited Ron and I to this inn called The Three Broomsticks. It was completely full of Hogwarts students, and they serve this drink called Butterbeer. It's hot and tastes like butterscotch, but it's really quite good. After that, Ron and I went to visit the Shrieking Shack, which is rumoured to be haunted. I'm not sure I believe it's really haunted, but it was nice anyway. Though I suppose you never know in the wizarding world. The Halloween feast was that night, and we were both very excited, as we didn't go to the feast last Halloween.

The whole hall was very loud, what with everyone in such good moods and all the live bats flapping around the ceiling. The ghosts even put on a little performance, which was quite interesting!

After a long time, they sent us all up to bed. But we couldn't get into the Gryffindor dormitory because someone had attacked the portrait that guards it. The portrait's called the Fat Lady, and she makes up passwords for the tower and everyone in Gryffindor says them to get into the common room. The Fat Lady said that Sirius Black had broken into the castle and attacked her when she wouldn't let him into the common room. You might have heard of him, it was on the Muggle news when he broke out of prison. Of course, he actually broke out of wizard prison, but they can't say that on the News at Five, I suppose.

The teachers were afraid he might still be in the castle, so all of the students had to sleep in sleeping bags in the Great Hall. He seems to have escaped, but all of the teachers are working on tightening security. There are guards everywhere now. They're bound to catch him soon.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_8__th__ November 1993_

Dear Mum and Dad,

I just received your letter, and I'm really, really, really sorry for upsetting you so much. The security around the castle is much better now, and I don't think anyone could get in without the teachers knowing about it. It's nothing like last year, Dumbledore is back and everything is well-protected. The sort of things that happened last year isn't at all common for Wizarding schools. It's just been bad luck. The Ministry is really close to catching Black, everyone says so.

I didn't mean to make you reconsider your decision to send me back to Hogwarts after what happened last year. I didn't mean to scare you. I know we talked about it and I promised you that this year would be quieter. Aside from Halloween, it has been. And I'm positive that nothing like that will happen here again. The castle has top security and every passage out of the castle is being monitored by guards. Even our dormitory has guards outside the entrance now. If you like, I can ask Professor McGonagall write you a letter about the new security measures. She'll tell you that it's very safe. I'll speak to you soon.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_13__th__ June 1994_

Dear Mum and Dad,

I'm sorry I haven't written about last weeks' exams until today. I've been quite busy. History of Magic went really well, my essay about the Paris Treaty of 1750 was twice as long as everyone else's. I'm so glad you let me go to that museum in Wizarding Paris! For our Defense Against the Dark Arts practical, we had to get through a very difficult obstacle course full of all of the things we had learned that year. I was fine until the very end, when one of the creatures, a boggart, gave me a bit of a fright. Our professor said not to worry about my score though. Harry was the only person who got through the entire obstacle course, because Defense Against the Dark Arts is his best subject. All of my other exams went well, I think.

I've decided to drop Muggle Studies and Divination, but I hope you aren't too disappointed. Professor McGonagall and I spoke about it, and we decided that it's for the best. Next year, I'll have three extra classes like everyone else.

Everything else has been quiet. The newspapers say Sirius Black has been spotted in South America, so there's no need to worry about him anymore. The Ministry doesn't think he will be coming back to the country anytime soon. Our Defense against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Lupin, resigned, which was disappointing. I expect we'll have someone exciting next year.

I'll see you at the station next week!

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_30__th__ August 1994_

Dear Mum and Dad,

Thank you for letting me come stay with the Weasleys. We camped out near the stadium with about one hundred thousand other wizards, and then watched the match in the evening. Ireland had live leprechauns as mascots, and the leprechauns tossed wizard money at the crowd and did flying tricks before the game. The Bulgarians had veela, which are a bit like hypnotists. Ireland won, though it was a very close game.

The Weasleys are all really nice, especially Ginny. She's Ron's sister and she's in third year, I don't know if you remember me telling you about her. I've been sleeping in her room and we shared a tent at the World Cup. She's much more interesting than my dormitory mates, and it's nice to talk to a girl sometimes. When we were at the Quidditch match, she sat next to me and explained things that I didn't understand. Ginny's really good at Quidditch, as it turns out, even though she's never played on the school team.

After the game was over, Mr. Weasley made us hot chocolate and let us stay up late. The others spent hours talking about the match, and sometimes it was rather boring. But they were very nice at explaining things to me, and Ron's brother Bill even drew some of the more complicated plays on a napkin. Ron and Harry and Ron's brothers slept in one tent, and then Mr. Weasley had another tent for Ginny and me. We had to wake up early the next morning, and everyone was very tired.

There's meant to be some sort of event at Hogwarts this year, though it's all a very big secret. Everyone else seems to know what's going on, except for those of us who are still in school. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley won't tell us, but they hinted that we would want to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas.

Thank you again for letting me stay with the Weasleys, and I'll see you soon!

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_5__th__ March 1995_

Dear Mum and Dad,

I'm sorry to hear about Mrs. Wells. She was ever so nice when she used to come over for dinner. Please tell her granddaughter I'm so sorry I'm can't come to the funeral. I would send a card, but I don't know where to find a proper one here. I hope everything else is well at home, and that your practice is doing nicely.

It's nice to finally have the chance to sit down and write this, I've been so busy lately with schoolwork and helping Harry. Ron had his fifteenth birthday yesterday, and Harry and I pooled our money to buy him a new chess set. He liked it so much that he wanted to play a game with it right away. Harry and I played him once each, and we both lost rather badly. Ron has been teaching me, but I'm still not very good. Harry's even worse than I am, which makes me feel a little better.

The second task turned out to be a bit like a swimming competition. Harry, Viktor, and the others had to retrieve something in the Black Lake. Cedric had the most points, Harry came second, Viktor came in third, and that Fleur Delacour girl came in last. This means that Harry and the other Hogwarts champion, Cedric, are tied for the most points overall. The judges told the champions that the last task would be announced in May, so Harry and the others can all rest for a few months. I think Harry is quite relieved. Viktor's very competitive though, and I think it's making him restless.

There's this rumor going around Hogwarts that Harry and I used to be some sort of couple, but that I broke up with him for Viktor. It's a bit ridiculous, but I think that some people actually believe it. I don't really care though, and I promised Viktor that it was all made up. I think he believes me, but he doesn't seem pleased.

I'm really glad that you liked the tooth-flossing string mints, and I'll see about ordering you some more. I know I said in my last letter that I would send some to you after my Hogsmeade weekend this Saturday, but Harry and Ron and I have to meet up with a friend and I expect we won't have time to shop.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_26__th__ June 1995_

Dear Mum and Dad,

Exams were fine. Harry won the tournament. Can't wait to see you in a few days!

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_5__th__ September 1995_

Dear Mum and Dad,

I'll tell Mrs. Weasley you said so. It was so nice of them to let me spend a whole month at the Burrow. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is a woman from the Ministry. She seems fine. I'm not sure we'll have enough practical lessons, though. My other lessons are going well. Thank you for the early birthday present. I love you both.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_24__th __December 1995_

Dear Mum and Dad,

I hope you're having a lovely time skiing, and I'm sorry about not coming. I'm working very hard here at Hogwarts, and I'm looking forward to a quiet Christmas. With OWLs just a few months away, I'm glad to have time for revising. Happy Christmas!

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_April 17__th__, 1996_

Dear Mum and Dad,

I'm sorry I didn't respond to your last letter, I didn't mean to make you worry. I think revising has started to make me forgetful.

Today is the first day of Easter holidays, but all of the fifth years are planning to spend the entire break revising. I'm already meeting three days a week with some of the other Arithmancy students. And my Runes class is going to hold an all-day revising session next Wednesday. I've drawn up study schedules for Ron and Harry, though they don't seem very appreciative.

Dumbledore has taken a leave of absence, but I'm sure he'll be back soon. In the meantime, our Defense professor has taken over as headmistress.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_October 16__th__, 1996_

Dear Mum and Dad,

Everything's just fine here, though we had a Hogsmeade weekend recently, and it was dreadfully cold. Harry, Ron, and I went back to the castle early because of the terrible weather.

My Potions teacher likes to have little parties, and he's having a big Christmas party. There will be loads of important wizards there, like William Wimple, the Deputy Head of Magical Law Enforcement at our Ministry. We're allowed to bring guests to this party, so I thought I would bring Ron. Slughorn's last party was rather dull, especially as Harry and Ron couldn't go. Ginny went though, which made it a bit better. Harry and Ginny have already promised to go to the Christmas party, and it might be quite fun. Harry is still doing much better than I am in Potions, but I'm working very hard to catch up. I'm getting top marks in my other classes though.

I loved the birthday presents, even though the package obviously got a bit lost on the way here. That poor owl! The stationary set is quite lovely, I can't wait to send people monogrammed letters. The bracelet is very pretty, and I promise to take care of it.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_20__th__ December 1996_

Dear Mum and Dad,

Thank you for the earrings! They'll look very nice with my robes for the Christmas party. As for my date, his name is Cormac and he's in the year above me. He goes to Slughorn's parties, and I asked him in the common room. He's tall, plays Quidditch, and is in Gryffindor. I'm not sure what else you might want to know about him.

Ron and Lavender aren't going to the party, but they don't seem to mind. I don't think Harry wants to go either, but Slughorn insisted.

Yes, I'm still planning on coming home for Christmas break. Unless you decided to make other plans. Otherwise, I can't wait to see you both!

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_23__rd__ April 1997_

Dear Mum and Dad,

I passed! The apparition instructor said I was the best he had seen in years. I can't Apparate inside Hogwarts, so I can't get to my classes faster. That would have been nice though, Dad.

Ginny broke up with her boyfriend, Dean, a few days ago, but she seems more relieved than upset. He was playing on the Quidditch team, substituting for Katie Bell. She's the one who was in hospital with mononucleosis. But Katie came back to school yesterday, which means that Ginny doesn't have to play on the team with Dean anymore. Ron and Lavender split up too. Ron is quite happy about it, I think. He's very cheerful, though he tried to hide behind me when he saw her leaving breakfast this morning. As I'm about a foot shorter than he is, Lavender saw him and looked rather upset. Ron and Harry are very busy preparing for the final match next week though. Harry's the captain, but he doesn't seem nearly as nervous as Ron.

School's going really well, I think. NEWTs are quite close, so I've started reviewing for an extra hour each night.

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_June 19__th__ 1997_

Dear Mum and Dad,

That sounds lovely. I think it would be really nice to have a summer for just the three of us. I've missed you. I'm invited to Ron's brother's wedding in August, but we can work out the details later. Maybe I can go visit the Weasleys for the weekend. A holiday sounds really nice, but I can't think of anywhere I'd like to go. Can you wait to make the arrangements until I come home? We can plan it all together. I'm really looking forward to a quiet summer with the pair of you. You're right of course, I need to study for NEWTs as well, but I can do that at home.

Thank you for that book, _Studying for Your A-Levels: The Extended Guide._ You're right, it will be useful for the wizarding A-Levels next term. I think my end of year exams went well. I'm sorry I didn't write you about them straightaway, like I usually do.

There's been a change in the train schedule. I know the school train usually arrives at six in the evening, but it won't be in King's Cross until nine o'clock. I was a bit disappointed when I heard, because I know you how much you like to take me out for dinner after the train comes in. But we'll have the rest of the summer to spend time together!

Love,

Hermione

* * *

_15__th__ July 1997_

Dear Mum and Dad,

If I sent this letter, Pig would probably drop it on the doorstep of an empty house or get lost on the way to Australia. And if he did get this to you, you would wonder why on earth an_ owl_ was trying to give you a letter from some girl from England.

Even if I have the chance to reverse the charm, you'll probably hate me for modifying your memories. I'm sorry about that, but I don't regret it. I did it to protect you, to protect all our family. I love you both so much, though I know that I haven't always been the best daughter.

Harry, Ron, and I are dropping out of school to find pieces of Voldemort's soul. After we find them all, Harry is going to try to kill him. I don't think I've ever written that down before. It looks worse than I would have expected when it's written out like that.

We haven't told anyone what we're doing. Aside from Voldemort, the three of us are probably the only living people who even know about Voldemort's seven horcruxes. I would tell you that I'm perfectly safe, but that would be a horrible lie. I've told you a lot of lies already. If I told you everything that had happened over the last seven years, you would take me out of Hogwarts and send me to St. Mary's. Who could blame you?

Mrs. Weasley was very nice when I arrived at the Burrow a few days ago. She made me tea and let me cry a bit in her kitchen. Ron's been really nice too. It's actually a big change for him. I don't know if you figured it out, but I quite fancy Ron. I only wrote that down because I know I'm going to throw this letter in the fire.

I love you so much.

Love,

Hermione


End file.
